Pain
by Falcon4Crane
Summary: Tommy has to help his wife moved past her pain in order to live again. One-Shot


A/N: This is just a one-shot that the plot bunnies won't leave me alone about. I hope that everyone enjoys this.

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"It will be touch and go for the next 24 hours." The doctor said before walking away. Jason and Rocky turned to help Tommy up. He had hit his knees when the doctor had delivered his first set of news. No one knew how to help him with the news he had been given but they would be at his side the entire time giving their support and praying for his family.

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_Six Months Later_

The house echoed the pain that she felt. It was almost like this house wasn't her home anymore. Kim stood at the window just staring out at the rain. Looking out over the yard, she wondered when the last time she had even stepped out of this room. Sighing she realized that she didn't care. She just didn't have the will to live any longer. Nothing matter anymore. Closing her eyes, she could almost see her previous life. She could almost remember being happy. The images bought so much pain that she wanted to cry but the tears didn't come. She was all out of tears. Six months of pain did that to a person. Opening her eyes she watched her husband pull up in the driveway. He had been away on business for the past three weeks and he was home early. He was supposed to be gone for a month. She wished that he would have called to tell her that he was coming home early. She could have at least said that she would be away. Taking a breath, she walked away from the window and sat at her dressing table. Maybe it was time to do something about her so called marriage only she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to move on or really if she wanted too.

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Tommy lost his smile as he opened the front door. Sadness hung in the air like the accident had happened yesterday. It had been six months and Kim needed to move past this. If she didn't, then their marriage would fail. It was bad enough that he let this go one for as long as he did. Shutting the door, he almost choked. The house needed to be aired out. He needed to get his wife out of her prison and he knew just the place. It would take some doing but he would do anything to have his Kimberly back. The shell of a woman that was upstairs was not his Kimberly. There were traces of her in there but it would take some time for the shell to disappear. He was up to the challenge though if only to see his wife smile again. They had once been happy and he intended for them to be again.

XXXX

"Why are we going to Phaedos?" Aisha asked her husband. He had called her at work to explain that they would be taking a trip to the far away planet again. She had been confused since they were not active rangers on why they had to fly back to Phaedos. It wasn't actually a place that you could go to on a whim.

"Tommy called." Rocky replied as Aisha nodded. She had wondered how much more Tommy would take. It had been six months since Kim had lost their baby. No one knew how to help the former Pink Ranger get through this lost least of all her husband. What should have been the happiest time in Tommy and Kim's lives had turned to into a tragedy. Kim had been nine months pregnant when she had fallen outside of her home. She had landed wrong and had hit her head coming down. It had been touch and go for a while until the doctor had walked out into the waiting room covered in blood. Tommy had hit his knees while everyone else just stood there. They had also been told that Kim had yet to wake up and that she was still in serious condition. No one knew why Kim had been outside at that time because she had been put on bed rest the week before. The doctor had been concerned about her carrying the baby to full term and had finally just put her on bed rest the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Once Kim had woken up everyone tried to ask her what she had been doing outside but she couldn't remember and once she had heard about the baby she shut down. Aisha remembered that day with a heavy heart. It was the last day that she had seen her best friend.

"When do we leave?" She asked as Rocky looked up at her. He could tell that she was upset.

"In an hour, Billy is taking all of us there. Andros is letting him use the Megaship II." He said as she nodded. She didn't even realize that she was crying until she felt the wetness on her cheeks. "Oh, hun we are going to get through this." Rocky said before pulling her into his arms. He hated to see her upset and the past six months had been hard. She would just start crying at the drop of a hat if she had thought about Kimberly or when she saw a picture of her. In an effort to save his sanity, he had removed all the pictures of Kim and Tommy from their house.

"Will she survive?" Aisha muttered against his chest really bringing home the fact that they may fail.

"I don't know." He replied. Hugging his wife close, Rocky really didn't know if Kim would survive this. They may have waited too long to save the Pink Ranger but they would try. It was time.

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"What do I pack for a planet that I have never even seen?" Trini asked pacing their bedroom. Jason shrugged and grabbed their bags. He had been waiting for weeks for the call from Tommy. The last time he had seen Kim, it had broken his heart. He had never seen his little sister look like that. There was no hope in her eyes and there had always been hope in Kim's eyes even when Tommy had been the Evil Green Ranger. It was like she knew that they would get Tommy on their side even when it was not looking good.

"Trini, just grab some jeans and shirts. Billy will be here soon." Jason said opening his drawers and grabbing his clothes.

"I'm scared." She stated as he threw his clothes into one of the bags.

"I know, I am too." He said as he started grabbing her clothes as well. Looking over at his wife, he felt her fear. "We have to do this, Trini. She can't go on acting like she is. It has been over a month since she has stepped out of that bedroom." He stated as she nodded. She had been over there last week and had to sit with Kim in her bedroom. Kim had barely spoken two words to her and it had broken Trini's heart even more. She had looked into Kim's eyes and saw a hollowness that had never been there before. Losing a child was hard and she knew that Kim felt that it was her fault. So the former Pink Ranger had retreated inside herself and didn't even let in her husband. She held her pain in and let it eat away at her.

"This is going to be hard." Trini muttered as Jason nodded.

"We are doing this together." He stated as he zipped their bags and headed for the door.

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"Adam, are you going to be able to handle this?" Tanya asked with her bag in hand. She sat it down by the door and sat down beside her husband.

Adam looked at his wife before answering. "I just don't know. You didn't see her last week. It was like someone had stolen the Kim we knew and placed this other woman in her body." Adam stated looking down at the floor.

"I will be there with you." She said simply taking his hands in hers.

"I know." He whispered. "And believe me that I am thankful for that fact."

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"Billy, I can't believe that you agreed to Tommy's request." Kat stated from the door.

"This is Kim we are talking about. I cannot stand to see her like this." Billy said as Kat nodded.

"I know but if this doesn't work then we have lost her forever." Kat replied walking over to her husband.

Billy looked up at his wife of five years. She had been a rock for him for so long. "Kat, we have to do this and I need you there with me." He said standing up in front of her. "Tommy feels its time and I agree." He said as she nodded. Backing away from him, Kat looked over at her wedding picture and in it she could see the Kimberly of the past. She had a smile as she looked up at Tommy. They had gotten back together after she had won Gold at Pan Globals. After a few years, Tommy had gotten down on one knee and Kim had said yes. A year later they had announced that they were pregnant and six months ago they were ready to welcome their daughter with open arms only to bury her instead. Pink roses had covered the casket and ground that April morning and it was the first time that she had seen the others not in their colors except for Zack and Adam. Kim had looked lost in the black that she wore. Tommy had stood strong at her side even though Kat knew that he had wanted to break down and cry. They both had lost something that day. Sighing Kat was bought back to the present when Billy handed her, her bag. They were finally ready.

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"Are you sure that you don't want to go with me?" Zack asked Angela.

"I'm sure. I think that this is a ranger thing. Please tell Kim that I love her and will be praying for her." Angela told her husband. "Anyway I have this huge project due in two days." She said handing Zack his bag. "Please be careful and give Kim my love." She said kissing his cheek before leaving for work. Zack waved bye and sighed. He knew that this was going to be hard on all of them but he was ready. It was time for Kim to join the living again.

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"I'm not going. I refuse to leave this house and you can't make me!" Kim yelled as Tommy ignored her. He piled her clothes into her pink bag. All of the clothes that he was packing were pink. Looking back at his wife, he knew that it was time to get her back in pink. She was standing by the window dressed in black like she had been every day since they had buried their daughter.

"Kim, I'm not fighting with you on this." He stated zipping her bag.

"Good." She stated folding her arms across her chest.

"Because you are going even if I have to drag you by your hair on the ship." He continued as if she hadn't spoken which only served to make her mad.

"Caveman act, Tommy? I would say that its beneath you but I guess that I would be wrong." She replied as he shrugged. She was at least talking to him face to face which was better than the past few months in which all she would talk to him was on the phone.

"Let's go." He said taking her hand. She let him lead her out and he knew that he would pay for that later but right now he was concerned about getting her away from this house that he didn't care if her hurt her feelings. He would fix them later once they got to Phaedos. He just had to get her there first.

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"Oh wow this is beautiful." Trini stated as Tanya and Kat nodded. Everyone else but Kim was sitting up their camp. Kim was a few yards away staring off into space. Tommy looked over at her and sighed. He knew that he was making the right move even if it pained him at the moment. He had already spoken with Dulcea and she told him to take all the time he needed to help his Crane.

"So what do we do for food?" Zack asked looking around at the bags. He didn't see any coolers or bags that would look like they had food.

"Don't worry we will hunt later." Rocky said.

"Oh I don't hunt for food unless its in the fridge." He replied as everyone laughed. Well everyone but Kim. She was still staring off into space.

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_Three Days Later_

"It's been three days and she hasn't said one word." Jason stated looking over at Tommy.

"I know." He replied.

"How long are we going to sit here?" He asked Tommy. Looking over at Jason, Tommy sighed. It was time for him to get tough. Standing up he walked over to his wife and took her by the hand.

"Where is he going?" Adam asked watching the entire thing.

"I think that he is getting down to business." Zack stated. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

"I think you're right but what will it cost him?" Kat asked sitting down next to Billy.

"It will cost him nothing if he loses her." Trini commented. Everyone fell silence after that, each lost in their own thoughts. The one thing on their mind was Kim and Tommy. Could Tommy do what needed to be done to get through to Kim?

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"Stop." Kim said as Tommy did as she asked. He had been pulling her behind him for the past hour and this was the first time she had spoken. He had picked this spot because it would show her that anything was possible. It was this spot that they had gained their Ninjetti powers.

"Kim, I want you to look around. See the beauty at your fingerprints." He stated as she just crossed her hands across her chest and looked at him. "Do you even see the beauty?" He asked as she sighed.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked quietly.

"Because I love you." He stated.

"Love me? If you loved me then you would have left me back at the house." She said.

"No if I loved you more then I wouldn't have waited this long. Kim, it has been six months since the accident, how much longer are you going to act like this?" He asked.

"The accident? Can you not even call it was it was? I lost our baby, Tommy. I lost her." She said spinning away from him.

"Actually we lost our baby; you are not the only one in on this. You are not the only one in pain." He stated.

"Oh really, you are in pain? I don't see that" She replied. "You still get up every morning to go to work. I don't think you even took a week off to mourn her loss."

"Oh I am in pain but one of us had to go to work. I didn't just lose my daughter, I lost my wife." He stated quietly still looking at her.

"Did you have another wife that I don't know about? If so then just leave me alone." She said looking back at him.

"No. I am not leaving you alone, its time for you to start living again, its time for you to start wearing pink." He said looking at her.

"I thought I was living. If not then why am I in pain?" She asked facing him once again.

"You are in pain because you won't let me help you." He replied.

"What can you do? You can't even say her name out loud." She fired at him.

"Rachael." He said. "I just didn't say it to help you deal and I can help if you let me in." He stated walking up to her.

"No, I can't do that. It hurts too much." She cried as he pulled her into her arms.

"I know it does but I need you to help me heal as well." He whispered as she starting crying. Tommy just held her close and rubbed her back. Hearing his wife cry made him start crying. It was the first time that they had even cried together over the loss of Rachael.

"Its my fault. I shouldn't have gotten out of bed but I heard something outside. I knew that you were at work but it just didn't feel right." She said against his chest. This was the first time that she had talked about what had happened that day.

"What was it?" He asked into her hair.

"I don't know as soon as I walked out on the steps, I slipped. The next thing I knew was that I was in labor and the doctors wouldn't tell me anything. I pasted out again and woke up to you sitting next to me." She said. "The first I heard about Rachael was when you told me. I was lost. I mean how could I lose the baby and not know it?" She asked crying harder. Tommy sighed and just rubbed her back.

"Kim, I want you to listen to me. It wasn't your fault that you lost the baby. Your fall just caused you to go into labor but the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. The doctor didn't know it until you delivered. He told me later that he should have rushed you into the OR to do an emergency C-section. You did nothing wrong." He said as she pulled back from him.

"But I should have stayed in bed." She said.

"No, he went back and looked at the ultrasound again and saw that the cord was around the baby's neck at the last appointment. He told me then that he should have admitted you but he was worried about the lungs being fully developed." He stated looking down at his wife.

"What happens now?" She asked as he wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

"We move on and live our lives." He stated.

"I love you." She cried wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you too, beautiful." He said leaning in and kissing his wife for the first time in six months.

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"How do you think its going?" Trini asked walking over to Jason. Everyone had drifted away to do their own thing. They had been waiting for the past two hours for Kim and Tommy to come back.

"Well there are no forest fires that I see so I say that they are okay for now." He said taking her hand in his. "Don't worry; Tommy can handle Kim." He stated as she nodded.

"It's just that they have been gone for a while." She said.

"Well we don't know how far they walked into the forest." He replied.

"I didn't think about that." She commented.

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"So are we okay now?" Tommy asked.

"We are better, okay is still a long way off." She replied as he nodded.

"As long as you talk to me until we are better." He stated as she nodded. She turned around and looked up at the monolith. He watched as she walked up to it and touched the doors. "Remember the last time I did that?" He asked with a smile.

"I'll protect you." She replied with a spark of sass. Smiling he walked over to her.

"Protect me? I guess that I will have to accept that." He said as he slid his arms around her body and bought her against him.

"You know I think that we need to get back." She commented.

"Why? Are you hungry?" He asked turning her around in his arms.

"Well yea I am but I need to change." She said smiling up at him.

"Change? You just put those clothes on this morning." He said looking down at the black shirt and pants that she had worn for the past three days. She had refused to wear anything that he had packed. Instead each night she had washed them in the creek by the camp and hung them out to dry.

"Yea I think that I need some pink on." She said as he picked her up and spun her around. He sat her back on her feet and kissed her.

"I agree that you need more pink on." He said grabbing her hand.

"Whoa slow down, I want to take the time to enjoy our walk back to camp. Phaedos is so beautiful and I want to enjoy it." She said as he nodded. He didn't care about holding back his emotion because he had finally gotten back his Kimberly. She might not be whole yet but she was breaking through.

"Okay we will take this slow. Do you need anything else?" He asked looking down at her.

"Well not now but once we get back I need to visit someone." She said quietly.

"Who?" He asked trying to think about who on Earth she would need to visit as soon as she got back.

"Rachael." She stated simply and he nodded. She hadn't been to the gravesite since they had buried their daughter. He had gone every week just to place new flowers on the grave. He had asked her repeatedly to come with him just to help her heal but she had refused every week.

"Done." He said. He would be happy to take her there because he knew that she was finally ready to start living again.

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Tommy held Kim's hand as he led her up the hill to their daughter's grave. Their friends were right behind them wanting them to know that they were here for them like they had always been. Tommy stopped once they had reached the edge of the grave. He watched Kim bend down and placed the pink roses at the base of the tombstone. Kim brushed her hand across their daughter's name before standing back up and taking Tommy's hand. The others joined them as Kim finally said goodbye to her daughter. Everyone was in black again except for Kim. Tommy had been proud when she had walked down the staircase in a bright pink dress. She was making a statement. They had both agreed that she had been wearing too much black so they had burned all of her black clothes the day they had gotten back from Phaedos along with airing out their house. They had both walked into the nursery and starting going through everything. They donated most of everything to the hospital for parents who could not buy a lot for their new babies. Tommy had held Kim while she cried over the ultrasound pictures in the photo album. After that they had also sat down with the doctor to speak with him. Kim had told him that she was not interested in pressing charges even though the doctor had told her that she had every right too. Tommy had been proud of his wife because she had walked over to the doctor and hugged him before telling him that she forgave him. Looking at his wife now, Tommy couldn't help but fall more in love with her. She had been through a lot but she was stronger for it.

"Goodbye." Kim whispered before she turned away. Tommy took one last look at the tombstone before joining his wife. The tombstone read _Rachael Anne Oliver, Beloved daughter taken took soon from her parents_. She had been taken away too soon but they had to move on. They would always love her after she was their first child.

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_One Year later_

"She is beautiful, Kim." Trini said as she held her goddaughter. Six months ago Kim had made a trip to her doctor because she thought that she had a bug that she couldn't shake. She had been sick for almost a month and Tommy had finally told her to go to the doctor. The doctor had smiled and told her that she was three months pregnant. He had called Tommy in so that he could pick Kim up off the floor. She had fainted the moment that he had confirmed her pregnancy. The next six months, she had taken it easy and not gone anywhere without someone at her side. The doctor had scheduled a C-section but Kim had gone into labor a full two days before her C-section. This time though everything went smoothly and she and Tommy had welcome their second daughter into the world with all her aunts and uncles in the waiting room. Everyone had been on pins and needles during Kim's last month of pregnancy. Trini had even taking to staying at the house to watch over Kim.

"Thank you." Kim stated with a smile. Tommy was just grinning from ear to ear. Emily Rose was a beauty just like her mom with her black hair and blue eyes. Tommy hoped that her blue eyes would fade to match the color of her mother's light brown though.

"I think Emily Rose is going to give you fits." Jason said next to Tommy.

"I know but she is worth it." Tommy replied as Jason nodded. He had been worried about Tommy and Kim getting past the death of Rachael but looking at them now, he really shouldn't have been. Tommy had helped push Kim back into the living world again. His love for his wife had been evident in those six months as he let her try to deal with the pain but he took action when it was time. Jason sat back and watched Tommy walk over to his wife in the hospital bed. Tommy grabbed Kim's hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of it. It was the tender moment that almost did Jason in. He had known in high school that the love between Tommy and Kimberly was something that not everyone experienced. They each had the ability to love each other when everything was against them. They had come through the pain to try for another child. Jason knew that he was privileged to know both of them and to be a part of their lives.

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Okay so what did everyone think? Please let me know and like I said this is just a one-shot that I wanted to write.


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